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Lending Service

The Goethe-Institut New York Library is one of the few German-language lending libraries in the United States. Our holdings number approximately 8,000 volumes, including books (one-quarter of which are in English), DVDs, CDs, newspapers and magazines.

proof of address (on ID or piece of mail addressed to you), telephone number and email address

student ID, if applicable

If you are under 13 years old, a parent or guardian must co-sign your application.

For members outside of New York City, we offer loans by mail under the following condition: the library will pay to mail items to members, but members are responsible for the cost of return postage, preferrably with tracking.

Annual library membership fees:

$10 membership fee for the general public

$5 membership fee for students or senior citizens

$0 membership fee for students currently enrolled in one of our language courses

For the annual library membership fee, we accept checks payable to Goethe-Institut New York or cash only.

Should you be interested in becoming a member, please return your completed application and a check to the address below:

All library members in good standing are entitled to borrow up to 10 items at a time. All physical media - with the exception of reference works, newspapers and the latest issues of magazines - may be borrowed for a loan period of three weeks. Due to the popularity of our film collection, members may only borrow 5 DVDs at a time.

Depending on the type, digital media may be borrowed from our eLibrary anywhere from one hour to two weeks (learn more about our eLibrary here).

There are no fines for overdue material, but members are expected to reimburse the library for lost or damaged material.

Renewals are possible via our Online Catalog, by phone or email. No need to renew or return digital media such as eBooks - they expire automatically at the end of the loan period.

For members outside of New York City, we offer loans by mail under the following condition: the library will pay to mail items to members, but members are responsible for the cost of return postage.

We neither loan material held by other Goethe-Institut libraries worldwide nor do we request materials from other libraries via interlibrary loan.